The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 335

219. Conversation with Gordon (3)

“What’s inside there…?”

“See it with your own eyes. I can’t tell you directly.”

“And you call that telling me a secret?”

Caryl retorted with a sneer at Gordon’s words, carefully observing his reaction.

“Why are you going to such lengths? Is that secret important enough to stop this war?”

“Well… it might stop it, or it might fuel it even more fiercely. But you know, once a war starts, whether it was justified or not, it can’t be stopped halfway until it reaches its conclusion.”

“It’s not just about the war, is it? There’s something bigger hidden. Something beyond the continent, perhaps.”

“Go and see. If you’re dying of curiosity, I won’t stop you from going first. But in the meantime, the war will progress quite a bit. If you, the strongest, are absent from the war against the empire with the Guardian Dragon, the tide of war might turn drastically.”

Gordon answered with the same nonchalant expression.

“You’re saying to go after ending the war.”

“Since it’s started, you have to finish it first.”

Caryl scoffed.

“Don’t worry. The secret of the North? It’s something I didn’t know anyway. I don’t care. Whether it’s a secret or whatever, it’s not a problem to decide how to deal with it when I actually see it. So, I will also bring an end to the imperial war.”

“I’m just amazed at what your nerves are made of… I hope you do.”

But even as he said that, Caryl couldn’t shake off the suspicious feeling as he listened to Gordon’s ambiguous answers.

‘Judging from his personality, he wouldn’t try to hide it this much… It’s like he’s avoiding answering as if he’s being watched.’

But by whom?

The only one who could make even Gordon Fabian cautious would be a god.

“…….”

As Caryl thought that, he felt his head getting complicated.

‘It can’t be.’

If even this was related to Yula, the god wouldn’t want that fact to be known.

That would mean that Gordon Fabian’s death in his past life was ultimately the will of God.

Clench―

Even if that were the case, Caryl didn’t want to believe it.

He didn’t want to admit that human lifespan and destiny were being played with by God.

“It may be hard to believe, but Kaliark, I, and Kwell were close friends.”

It was then.

Gordon, who had been lying in the snowfield, opened his mouth.

“…….”

For some reason, the word ‘close friends’ tasted bitter to Caryl.

“We first met 35 years ago during a small territory war. The McGovern family borrowed the power of the Cult Mercenary Corps in the process of clearing the northern forests. The purpose of the request was to subjugate monsters, but there were ethnic minorities living in the northern forests.”

“You were doing the same thing back then.”

“Well, it’s a bit different from what you think. At that time, there was no third party like the king involved. Discovering the ethnic minorities was truly accidental. The teenagers, for whom war and hunting were new, didn’t care much about differences in race or status. Rather, they were curious. Even if they were opposing enemies.”

Spit―

Gordon turned his head and spat out a dark red lump of blood.

“I’m not here to listen to your past history. What do you want to say?”

“You really have no charm. Just take a little time. This Gordon Fabian gave up his limbs to barely make this meeting possible.”

“…….”

Seeing Caryl’s silence, Gordon chuckled.

“Although we went our separate ways, we reached the pinnacle in our respective positions. Kaliark became a great warrior, I led the mercenary corps, and Kwell became the greatest swordsman on the continent as a knight.”

As if this was his last chance, he seemed to be trying not to miss this meeting.

“When the Edict of Heresy Extermination [a formal decree to eliminate those deemed heretics] was issued, Kwell tried to delay his departure as much as possible. In the meantime, he sent a secret letter to Kaliark telling him to evacuate the ethnic minorities. But the stubborn Kaliark participated in the war as a great warrior. Of course, if the Black Eyes Clan had drawn the attention of the Azure Knights, the damage could have been less.”

“That’s a funny story.”

Caryl replied coldly to Gordon’s words.

“You reached the pinnacle in your respective positions? Minimize the damage? All three of you were wrong.”

Caryl stood up from his seat.

His broken legs had already been completely healed.

“Why do you have to do it in your respective positions? Didn’t you, as Sword Masters and great warriors, know that you have to transcend your position if you want to achieve something?”

“…….”

“If you wanted to achieve peace.”

He put strength into his broken arm.

As he clenched his fist, the sound of the glove rubbing made a clenching sound.

“You should have become king.”

Gordon stared at Caryl, who had completely recovered, with trembling eyes.

“Cough… Heh. Yes. You’re right. We didn’t even think of what even a child knows. We were just trying to alleviate it, not change anything.”

His self-deprecating words sounded bitter for some reason.

“I don’t know what you know, but if you’re afraid because of an absolute being, this is enough. It’s courageous just to let me know.”

“Did I get praised by a kid?”

“Be happy about it.”

“Heh heh…….”

Gordon gave a faint smile at Caryl’s words.

“So you really reached the ranks of the 6th class. The healing is already over. It’s all I can do to hold you back for this short moment, even with all my might.”

“We’ve talked enough. The war has begun, and battles are taking place in various places. But to settle it, I’ll have to move in the end. I just didn’t want to fight in an uneasy state. Well, it’s not the direction I wanted, but I can fight with a light heart.”

“Are you going to solve it alone again?”

Gordon said to him as he turned away.

“Hey. War is not something you do alone. Do you know the biggest reason why the Cult Mercenary Corps has survived until now?”

“Of course. That’s why Olivon was the first to try to recruit you. Airships that can ignore all the advantages of the terrain. And the Cult Mercenary Corps itself can exert the power of a knight order. You can capture a castle in an instant. If you pass through the canyon… you can strike Tatur directly.”

Gordon gave a bitter smile at Caryl’s words.

“Are you kidding me? If you think that airships are the power of the mercenary corps, you won’t win the war.”

“Variable.”

But that smile disappeared at Caryl’s next words.

“An unpredictable move created by airships. There’s no need to explain the power of you and the mercenaries. But even if you’re a Sword Master, you can’t change the war alone, as you said. The Cult Mercenary Corps is the same. It has the power of a knight order, but it’s impossible alone.”

Caryl pointed to the sky.

“But the variable created by combining all of that should not be thought of as a simple logic of power. A variable can be a decisive blow that determines the outcome of the war, where one spear aimed at the back is more effective than a million swords aimed at the front.”

“You know it well. To have the eyes of a general who looks down on the war situation at that age, you always amaze me.”

“Showing you in the North was Olivon’s biggest mistake. He wanted to make me wary, but it’s the opposite. All I have to do is destroy the airships.”

Caryl put strength into the hand holding the sword.

“I wonder how Olivon’s expression will change when the Cult Mercenary Corps collapses.”

“It seems to be successful in that sense.”

“…What?”

“Even the Cult Mercenary Corps is bait.”

Twitch―

From the Marquis of Bestal’s territory to Fort Nine’s defense and the Cult Mercenary Corps…

A game of throwing bait on bait.

Caryl targeted the Cult Mercenary Corps first to cut the line that was holding that bait.

But now Gordon was saying that even the line he was holding to cut was bait.

‘Could it be…’

Caryl looked at him with a stiff face.

“I shouldn’t say this as an enemy, but be careful of the Order. They will be the real variable.”

As expected.

Olivon is connected to Wooden Cloud, but he can’t use their power externally.

But the power of the Order connected to that Wooden Cloud could fully help the empire even in war.

“They have a power that is not human.”

“The power of God? The blessings they can give are just weak buffs that increase physical abilities. That’s enough to overcome with magic.”

“Well, if their power only stopped at that level, their position would have been pushed back by the Magic Society.”

Gordon left behind strange words.

“Be careful. Olivon.”

“Don’t worry. It’s me who will end his life.”

“You still don’t know who’s behind him.”

“No. I know very well.”

Caryl turned around as if he had nothing more to say.

“If you’re just talking about the dragon, I’ll cut off its head too.”

“…….”

Gordon looked at his back with an expression as if he couldn’t say one last word.

“Caryl.”

Instead, he called his name in a low voice.

“I’ll ask you one last thing. Have you never been curious? About the relationship between Kwell and Kaliark.”

Caryl felt his heart sink.

He had been thinking that all the beginnings and preparations started from the McGovern family’s mansion and climbed the tower.

Only the idea of obtaining the dragon’s heart there and writing a new history remained.

Is that why?

Even when he returned and opened his eyes in the carriage, he couldn’t question why Kwell had saved him.

“That the three of you were close friends?”

“No. The reason why he, a close friend, had no choice but to cut down Kaliark. In the Edict of Heresy Extermination, he tried as a knight to minimize the damage to the ethnic minorities. Even if it wasn’t a satisfactory method, as you said.”

It felt like Olivon’s memories and his own memories from his past life were intersecting.

Imperialists and ethnic minorities.

Friends who ended up pointing swords at each other.

“Whatever the reason, the result doesn’t change.”

Gordon said with a bitter smile at Caryl’s answer.

“Yes. I guess we can’t meet with a smile. But if you meet him on the battlefield, ask him.”

Caryl bit his lip slightly.

“Whatever the truth is… I’ll know after the war is over.”

“I hope you do.”

Then he stopped walking, turned around again, and said.

“There’s one thing you’re wrong about. I’m not 6th class, I’m 7th class.”

Certainly, a Sword Master alone cannot change the course of the war. If it’s an ordinary Sword Master.

“I can.”

* * *

Kwaaaaaang―――!!

The imperial capital.

With a loud explosion, the castle gate shattered.

The storm-like invasion reached the Sun Hall in an instant, and the ministers were bewildered by the sudden commotion along with the soldiers’ screams.

“A, an attack… B…!!”

The soldier’s cry at the door was cut off, and his body was cut down as it was.

“No way!!”

“300,000 troops… are on their way now!”

“How…”

The people of the imperial palace shouted in disbelief as they looked at the boy walking in from under the castle as if nothing had happened.

That’s because no one would have dreamed that the leader of the enemy would appear in the middle of the enemy camp before the great war.

[Krrrrrrrrr…!!]

A low growl of red scales was heard from the roof of the imperial palace.

“So what?”

Caryl, who opened the door of the Sun Hall and grabbed the neck of the minister who was running away, twisted it mercilessly.

Crack―